Fire and Brimstone, Part 1
by BeyondTheClouds777
Summary: ***SPOILERS FOR RTTE SEASON 4*** With the volcano erupting, the riders have just a short amount of time to think up a plan. Meanwhile, Ryker plots his next attack, using the impeding flow of lava as a distraction to get what he wants.
1. Chapter 1

**Race to the Edge Season 4B, Episode 1, "Fire and Brimstone, Part 1."**

 **WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!**

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 **Hello everybody! :D It's great to see all of you amazing people again! I know it's been a while *cough cough* months *cough cough* but thank you all so much for being patient with me! I hope you guys enjoyed my last completed B season (season 2B) and enjoy every moment of this new one (which I hope is just as good as the last)!**

 **My updates are probably gonna be...well, I dunno, probably a chapter a day if I can manage it (which I think I can, knowing me). I have Spring Break for the week so that's good, but still, I have some subjects I need to catch up on (I'm supposed to be finishing up "Pride and Prejudice" and "Tale of Two Cities" whoops). I'M GOING TO DO MY BEST, THOUGH! :D**

 **Again, thank you all! Oh, and one more thing before I leave you bunch to enjoy the chapter:**

 **Hmmm...Astrid goes temporarily blind, aye, DreamWorks? *looks at my previous story, "Blind Man's Bluff"* Veerrrryyy suspicious, DeamWorks, very suspicious…XD**

* * *

 _BANG!_

The loud sound startled the riders out of the peace they'd experienced just moments before. Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Toothless, and Barf and Belch turned around instinctively at the noise, their riders staring on in horror.

"The volcano!" Fishlegs cried, cupping his hands around his mouth. "It...it…!"

"It's _erupting!"_ said Ruffnut and Tuffnut in unison, staring on at said active volcano.

Tuffnut frowned, looking torn. "You know," he said, "this would probably be a lot cooler if the volcano wasn't erupting so near our huts...you know, it just hits a little too close to home, huh?" He looked at Ruffnut expectantly, and she nodded her agreement.

"This is _bad!"_ Hiccup said, but he really didn't even need to say it. "Everyone, circle the volcano, diamond formation! Have your dragons blast at the ground! We'll try to build a moat!"

The riders did instantly as their leader had instructed, dragons diving in their assigned formation, towards impending doom. If they didn't stop the lava now, Dragon's Edge would be finished.

"Hiccup, there's no time!" Astrid shouted across the sky; as they neared the volcano, the air became smoky, and embers floated throughout the sky. "Even if we _could_ build a moat, you remember how well that worked on Mala's island, don't you?"

"And by 'how well it worked,'" said Snotlout, steering Hookfang just a little closer so he could eavesdrop on the conversation, "you mean 'didn't work at all', don't you?"

"I know!" Hiccup said back. "But we can't just sit back and do nothing! If there's a chance of stopping this, any chance at all, we have to at least try!"

"Plus," said Tuffnut, raising a finger pointedly, "this gives us an excuse to both A," he counted off one finger, "get near a volcano, and B," he counted off another finger, "blow stuff up!"

"And we _never_ pass by the opportunity to do _either_ of those things!" said Ruffnut with a grin, as she and her brother dove down with the rest of the riders, straight towards the erupting volcano. "C'mon, Hiccup! You should know this by now!"

Hiccup looked at the volcano and reconsidered this move, feeling torn. On one hand, if they didn't try, as he'd told Astrid, the alternative was to stand by and watch their precious Dragon's Edge get swallowed up by lava.

However, they also had their own lives to think about, plus the lives of their dragons.

"Okay!" Hiccup shouted, getting his voice over the sounds of the exploding lava and rumbling of the volcano. "Listen, I'm not going to force any of you to push on! If you want to turn back-"

"What? _Now_ you ask us if we want to turn back!?" Snotlout demanded, glaring harshly at Hiccup. "We're already knee-deep in this stupid fiasco, so might as well carry it out! Besides…" He stuck out his chest and pounded it with his fist. "We Jorgensons _never_ give up! Of course…" He moved a hand, gesturing to the rider beside him, "we Jorgensons do _not_ speak for the Ingermans."

"Hey!" Fishlegs objected, sounding more offended than anyone had heard him in a long time. "We're not backing out of this, either! We're a team! If one of us goes in, then I'm with you all the way!"

"Fishlegs is right!" Astrid agreed, steering Stormfly to flank Hiccup and Toothless. "Besides, this is our home! We have to try, or it's for nothing!"

"And think of all the dragons who started living here!" Snotlout added furiously. "If the Edge goes down, we won't be the only ones losing a home!"

"Whoa, Snotlout being thoughtful?" said Tuffnut, frowning. "Maybe it'll be hot next Devastating winter, too!"

"Oh shut up!" Snotlout snapped. "No one asked you, Tuffnut!" His comment went ignored by Ruffnut, who spoke to Hiccup.

"Like we said," said Ruffnut breezily, shrugging her shoulders, "we don't get many opportunities like this."

"Better take it while we have the chance, am I right?" Tuffnut grinned, almost fiendishly. "IF WE GO DOWN, WE GO DOWN LIKE THE TRUE VIKING WARRIORS WE ARE!"

"YES!" said Snotlout, pounding his fist into the air in agreement, which was a big deal as he hardly ever agreed with the twins. "SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT, OY, OY, OY!"

Fishlegs gave an involuntary yelp, but he was quick to regain his composure. "Of course," said Fishlegs, speaking like he was talking to a classroom of children, "it would be better if we _didn't_ go down at all."

"Well, yeah, sure," said Tuffnut, like he'd never considered "not going down" whatsoever, "if you want to put it that way, Fishycoward."

"Fishy _what?"_ said Fishlegs.

"Nevermind!" said Tuffnut, throwing his hands into the air. "CHARGE, MY BROTHERS IN FLAMES! YABADABADOOOO!" Barf and Belch dove, faster than ever, towards the volcano.

"Everyone, follow the twins!" Hiccup directed. "Watch out for the lava! Do your best to buy some time!"

"Hiccup, I'm going to go find Heather!" Astrid said. "She, Windshear, Stormfly and I can start cutting down the trees nearby! At least we won't have fires _and_ a volcanic eruption to worry about!"

"Good thinking!" Hiccup agreed. "Go!"

Astrid pulled up on Stormfly, redirecting the Nadder's flight. "And Hiccup, you'd better be careful!" Astrid hollered to him. "If you die on me-"

"I know!" Hiccup shouted back to her. "And the same goes for you!"

Astrid nodded and flew off, Stormfly's wings pounding against the smoky air.

They were running out of time.

"Go Barf, go Belch! Whoop, whoop, whoop!" Tuffnut and Ruffnut cheered in unison. Barf spewed gas in a long, ginormous ring all the way around the volcano, and with a single spark from Belch, the ring was ablaze. With a _bang!_ like a firework, a reasonably-sized ditch was dug.

However, it wasn't enough. The lava was approaching, never stopping, straight towards the riders' pathetic attempt at a moat.

"Aw! I thought it'd do more than that!" said Ruffnut angrily, snapping her fingers.

"It just means we'll have to try it again!" said Tuffnut. "One more explosion! Or maybe two more! Or three more, depending on how many it takes before...eh, nevermind, let's just blow this thing!"

The twins were back in action and just as crazy as before - if not just a little bit crazier.

"Toothless, plasma blast!" Hiccup directed, and the Night Fury did just that, blasting plasma towards the place where there was the most lava. The lava hadn't quite reached the moat yet, but it was getting too close for comfort.

It was only a matter of time…

"Come on, Meatlug! We can do this, I _know_ we can!" Fishlegs encouraged. "There are too many people and dragons who depend on this island! We aren't going to give up, not now!"

Meatlug growled her agreement and set to work, blasting into the twin's moat to deepen it.

"SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT, COMIN' IN HOT!" sang Snotlout loudly, as Hookfang soared towards the ground, body ablaze. "You've got this, Hooky! Give it your all!"

Hookfang whacked Snotlout upside the head with his horn, and then breathed fire into the moat, circling all the way around, like the twins had done with the gas. It was getting deeper, sure, but…

...But it was becoming increasingly obvious that it just wasn't enough.

Hiccup overlooked the operation, his mind racing just as fast as the dragons were flying and firing trying to build that moat.

"That's weird…" he thought to himself. "I thought the lava would have reached the moat by now…"

But it hadn't. The lava was moving, yes, that never changed, but there wasn't nearly as much of it as Hiccup had been expecting. Maybe...maybe…

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs called, and Hiccup looked over. Said Fishlegs flew over with Meatlug, looking frantic. "Do you see this? The lava! It's not-"

"-It's not coming as quickly as it should be," Hiccup finished, and Fishlegs nodded.

"Yes!" said Fishlegs. "Exactly! Which makes me wonder...what if this is a smaller explosion? This volcano has been dormant for _years_ \- maybe this is just a small eruption, and we can handle it!"

"...Maybe," Hiccup said - after all, it was hope, and he clung to any hope he could get at this point, "but we still need to act, or it's over! Fishlegs, why don't you and Meatlug try blocking the lava while the rest of us keep digging the moat?"

"Consider it done, Hiccup!" said Fishlegs, and he and Meatlug soared off to find supplies, or anything they could use to stop the flow of lava.

If this really _was_ a smaller eruption, then maybe...maybe they actually had a chance of stopping it before it destroyed the Edge.

"Yeah! I _lava_ good volcano!" said Tuffnut. And then, he grinned stupidly and laughed even _more_ stupidly. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Get it!? I _lava_ good volcano? Like _love a_ but it's _lava,_ because of the-"

"HARDY HAR HAR!" Snotlout yelled, looking like he'd rather throw himself into the mouth of the volcano than deal with the twins' idiocy. "That's so funny I'm not even laughing!"

"It's so funny, the breath was taken from your lungs!" said Tuffnut. "I. Am. A. Genius!"

"You should take the breath from Snotlout's lungs more often," said Ruffnut, grinning. "Maybe then he'd finally shut up."

"I was being...you know what, forget it," said Snotlout, crossing his arms. "It'd take more time to explain than we have left. Get your lazy butts back into action, you muttonheads!" Then, he turned Hookfang and soared off, ready for the next bout of fire to continue the moat.

"Yeesh," said Tuffnut, shivering violently with a grimace. "You know, I liked Snotlout better before he learned how to talk."

"I HEARD THAT!"

Tuffnut stuck out his tongue.

"This isn't the time, guys!" Hiccup shouted, moving to put himself and Toothless between the twins and Snotlout. "Ruff, Tuff, come on! I thought you guys _loved_ explosions!"

The twins perked up, any anger towards Snotlout diminished. "You're _right_ ," said Tuffnut. "And _this_ is why you're the smart one, Hiccup! Barf, Belch, charge!"

With a hysteric scream from both Ruffnut and Tuffnut, they shot through the sky towards the half-finished moat.

The lava was steadily getting closer with every passing second. Hiccup swallowed hard, biting his lip nervously. Toothless rumbled quietly in question, and Hiccup patted the dragon's head.

"I know, bud, I know," Hiccup said. "It's gonna be close."

Toothless growled his agreement and flew downwards to rejoin the fray.


	2. Chapter 2

**You guys broke my email. 0_0 I'm not even kidding, you broke my email.**

 **I had to go in for a doctor's appointment yesterday to get my eyes checked, and I posted this story right before leaving. I get home and open my email aND IT BOGGED DOWN MY ENTIRE COMPUTER.**

 **YOU GUYS ARE INCREDIBLE! I LOVE YOU ALL SO, SO, SO, SO MUCH! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS AND WHATNOT YESTERDAY! I really needed that after getting my pupils dialated and getting motion-sickness-migraines on the way home (very, very curvy road. I thought I was gonna DIE).**

 **BUT THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH (again)! I LOVE YOU! :D I think I'm going to hold off and do shout-outs next chapter, unfortunately; I'm pretty worn out from yesterday so I'm pretty sure all my responses would end up being weird, 'cause I can't always think straight when I'm tired. But I love you all, and I promise I'll do shout-outs in the next chapter! :D**

 **(Providing my email hangs in there. XD JK).**

 **I'll see you awesome people in the next chapter! :D _Ja ne!_ **

* * *

"Stormfly, spine shot!" Astrid shouted, and her dragon chirped, flicking her tail. The spines embedded themselves in the trunk of a nearby tree, and when Stormfly soared over, the only thing the dragon had to do was knock it down.

"Great job, Stormfly!" Astrid praised. "Come on, let's do it again!"

"Windshear, you know what to do!" said Heather, and the Razorwhip _definitely_ knew what to do. She moved her tail, zig-zagging through the trees; four came toppling down in unison.

"Nice going, Heather!" said Astrid.

"Not so bad yourself!" said Heather. She pointed ahead, back in business-mode once again. "There are a few more trees up ahead!" said Heather. "Let's take them out in one swoop!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Astrid agreed with a grin, and their dragons moved in that direction, towards the trees that would soon be on the ground.

Astrid looked up at the volcano. Lava exploded, blasting up into the sky before crashing to the ground. The rest of the lava poured down the volcano, moving steadily towards the base of the mountain.

It was too close for comfort. It was way, _way_ too close.

"We'll make it, Astrid!" said Heather, sensing her friend's discomfort. "Don't worry! We aren't going to let this volcano take the Edge away from us!"

Astrid looked back up at the volcano. She could see the figures of the other dragon riders blasting fire towards the ground, trying to construct a moat to capture what lava they could.

She nodded. "You're right," she agreed. "Come on, let's chop down these trees before the lava reaches them!"

Heather nodded firmly, and the two riders continued on.

 _This has to work_ , thought Astrid, as she stared on at the disaster before them. _This just has to work._

She didn't know what any of them would do if it didn't.

"Astrid!"

The sudden shout of her name caused both her and Heather to halt in their tracks - or, moreover, in their sky. Fishlegs steered Meatlug towards them, looking grim.

"Fishlegs!" said Astrid, and then, to Heather, "You go on ahead and start chopping down those trees!"

Heather nodded to her, nodded to Fishlegs, and then continued on with Windshear. Astrid, meanwhile, directed Stormfly upwards to meet Fishlegs half-way.

"How's it going?" Astrid asked, and then winced as another explosion rumbled the air and shook the ground below.

"Well, we won't know until the lava actually reaches the moat," said Fishlegs, "but so far, I _think_ it's going alright. Hiccup wants me to start blocking the lava to try and buy some time for the moat to be dug. Can I use the trees you and Heather chopped down?"

Astrid was nodding before Fishlegs even finished speaking. "You don't even need to ask!" said Astrid. "Use whatever you want! As long as we stop that lava, that's all that matters!"

"Right!" Fishlegs said with a firm nod, and he flew one way while Astrid flew the other, Fishlegs towards the fallen trees and Astrid towards the ones that remained standing.

"Alright, Stormfly!" said Astrid. "Let's give this all we've got!"

Stormfly squacked in agreement and soared on. This was a stand they had to make, not against dragon hunters, but against a natural disaster that could - and definitely _would_ \- take their home away from them if they didn't do something.

"That's not going to happen," said Astrid to herself (and to Stormfly). "We've got this, girl! Let's go! Spine shot!"

Stormfly flicked her tail, and their fight against the volcano raged on.

…

From the ocean, standing aboard one of the few intact ships that remained, Ryker stood, watching the dragons and their riders try to stem the flow of lava. He stared on, while around him, the crew panicked.

"We should turn back, Ryker!" one of the hunters told him, racing up to stand beside the Grimborn. "That volcano isn't going to stop! We should leave while we have the chance, before the riders realize we're here-"

"No," said Ryker, holding out an authoritative hand in front of the frantic hunter. "We aren't leaving. Not until we did what we came to do."

His eyes caught sight of Hiccup and Toothless, barely noticeable within the smoky sky. He narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth.

"Rally up the remaining archers and all the arrows you can find!" Ryker demanded of the hunter. The hunter nodded, snapped his hand up in salute, and then raced off to do as Ryker had commanded.

"Archers! To the bows!" the hunter yelled. "Gather all the arrows you can! We fight back!"

"No one leaves," said Ryker, more to himself than to his crew, "until we take down Hiccup and his Night Fury."

...

"It's getting really hard to breathe, Hiccup!" Snotlout shouted at said dragon rider, as he and Hookfang regrouped further into the sky, as far away from the smoke as possible. "If it's a choice between the Edge and our _lives_ , I think the choice is pretty obvious!"

Another explosion rattled the sky and shook the ground. Toothless and Hookfang growled, as though it were an enemy they could scare off by simple intimidation.

"You're right, Snotlout," said Hiccup. "If it gets any more dangerous, we'll have to pull back. It's not worth losing our lives over."

"Exactly my point!" said Snotlout. "Well, at least it can't get any wor - AAH!"

Hookfang suddenly swerved out of the way, nearly knocking Snotlout off his back. Dragon root arrows shot through the sky, tearing through the air Hookfang and Snotlout had previously occupied.

"Arrows!" Hiccup shouted, and another round was fired; this time, it was Toothless who swerved out of the way to avoid them.

"WHY DOES THAT ALWAYS HAPPEN!?" Snotlout shouted. "The second you think it can't get any worse, _IT GOES AND GETS WORSE!_ I wanna go home! I didn't - Whooa-!" Hookfang swerved again. Once the Nightmare was level again, Snotlout went on with his protest. "I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS!"

"Snotlout, you and the twins keep working on the moat!" Hiccup directed, as though Snotlout hadn't spoken at all. "I'll take out the archers!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Snotlout, stopping Hiccup just before he turned Toothless and flew off. "How come _you_ get to stop the archers while _I_ get to stay here and fight off the _freaking volcano!?"_

"If you want to take out the archers who want to kill us," said Hiccup idly, "be my guest."

Snotlout frowned, thinking. "You know what? On second thought, I'll work with the volcano!" said Snotlout. "I'll be missed more if I'm tragically killed by the hunters!"

"...Right, okay," Hiccup said, shaking his head. "C'mon, bud, let's go!" Toothless nodded in agreement, and the dragon spun around-

"Hold it!" said Snotlout, and Hiccup stopped, once again, to face the objecting Jorgenson.

"What _is it,_ Snotlout?" Hiccup questioned, sounding every bit as fed up as he was.

"Maybe you think taking out the hunters is a really important job!" said Snotlout, pointing an accusing finger. " _Anyone_ can build a moat around a volcano - _I'll_ take out the hunters!"

As if on cue, another round of arrows shot past them. When Hookfang jerked to avoid them, Snotlout was nearly flung off his back once again.

"Nevermind, nevermind!" screamed Snotlout, turning Hookfang around and shooting towards the volcano once again. "They're all yours, Hiccup!"

Hiccup groaned. He really wished Snotlout was more decisive, but nevermind that. "Alright, Toothless, let's go for real!" Hiccup said. "Full speed ahead!" Toothless nodded, and he and his rider took off, towards the ocean where the few remaining dragon hunter vessels sat afloat atop the water.

...

"You can do it, Meatlug!" encouraged Fishlegs; he and his Gronckle had been going back and forth, back and forth between the forest of fallen trees and the erupting volcano. They'd been doing this for a while now, and the strain was beginning to show. Meatlug wasn't moving as quickly as before, almost as if each tree were heavier than the last.

"Everyone's depending on us, girl!" said Fishlegs. "We can't let them down! We can do this!"

Meatlug perked up and growled her agreement, picking up speed (if even just a little bit).

"Need a hand?" Astrid's voice cut through the air, and Stormfly and Windshear rose from the ground, flanking Meatlug on either side, carrying a tree between their talons.

"Yes, please!" said Fishlegs. "But aren't you supposed to be cutting down the trees?"

"We finished clearing the majority of the trees," said Heather, sitting atop Windshear. "We've done everything we can do from the ground. Now it's time to take on this thing."

The volcano gurgled again, almost like it knew people were talking about it.

"Well, we definitely need all the help we can get there," said Fishlegs. "There isn't much time left, we have to hurry."

Astrid and Heather nodded their acknowledgement, and they and Fishlegs soared on with their trees, which would hopefully serve as an adequate dam against the otherwise unstoppable flow of lava.

"Comin' in hot!" said Tuffnut wildly. "Waaahhoooooo!" Barf and Belch did another ring of explosive gas all the way around the volcano, and when it exploded and the smoke cleared, the moat was just that much deeper.

"Yeaha!" said Ruffnut, throwing her hands into the air. "Total destruction! I _like_ this!"

"There's nothing I like better than blowing up stuff," said Tuffnut with a sigh of awe. Then, he backtracked. "Except maybe blowing up Snotlout."

"I CAN _STILL_ HEAR YOU!" Snotlout shouted, a little ways below them. Lava bubbled and flew, and it would have hit Hookfang if the dragon hadn't turned. "HOOOOKFAAANG!" Snotlout screamed, his voice twice the octave it usually was. "Cuttin' it a little close, don't you think!?

Hookfang growled.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me, Mister!" said Snotlout furiously. "I know _exactly_ what - AAAHHH!" Another blast of lava, and Hookfang spun out of the way. "Okay, _now_ you're doing this on purpose!"

"Woooow," said Ruffnut, watching on. "He's gonna die, isn't he?"

"Yes, dear sister," said Tuffnut, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. "He will go out nobily. Screaming, crying like a poor baby…"

"HELP MEEEEEEEEE!" Snotlout screamed, louder and higher than ever. Hookfang was barrel rolling all over the place, avoiding splash after splash of hot, boiling lava.

"Okay, okay, _fine_ ," said Ruffnut. "Geez…" She and her twin directed their dragon downwards to assist Snotlout.

"Where's Hiccup!?" Astrid shouted, looking around for any sign of said dragon trainer. "Fishlegs! Where'd he go?"

"I don't know!" cried Fishlegs, looking to and fro frantically. "He was here the last time I - ARROWS! WATCH OUT!"

Stormfly and Windshear spun out of the way while Meatlug dropped, arrows flying all over the place.

"What _was_ that!?" Heather said loudly, although by the tone of her voice she already knew the answer. "I thought we took out the hunters!"

"I thought we did, too!" Fishlegs said, panting for breath. "Oh Thor, if we have to deal with them _and_ the volcano…"

"I think," said Astrid, looking towards the source of the arrows, "I know where Hiccup is now."


	3. Chapter 3

**I...made a mistake.**

 **Yes. I admit it. I made a mistake.**

 **I...sort of...may or may not have forgotten about Ryker's fate in the last episode of the new RttE season. 0_0 It's NOT MY FAULT I WAS WATCHING THAT SHOW WITH A 10/10 MIGRAINE SO I MISSED A LOT OF THE SMALLER DETAILS I AM SO SORRY.**

 **Can we just...pretend Ryker miraculously survived by some unknown force? Yeah, let's pretend that for this story's sake...yeah...just...forget about Ryker's fate in RttE. I'll take care of fixing my mistake a little later on in these "episodes."**

 **I am so embarrassed. I have failed. *rocks back and forth in a tiny, embarrassed, author-sized ball* I'm a failure. An embarrassment to the fandom. How can I liiiiivvveeeeeeeeee?**

 **As promised, shout-outs:**

 **SnivyDragon: I know, seriously, Hiccup? Why do you always do this? :/ Thanks! I've been feeling more like myself lately, so thank you! :D And thank you for the review!**

 **Guest (#1): Awww thank you so much! I'm so glad you love this story/my writing so much! That's always uplifting to hear. :) Thanks for the review!**

 **Guest (#2): Thanks! It's good to be back in the saddle again, too! :)**

 **Guest (#3): Thank you! I'm flattered! :D**

 **Iloveanimals: Thank you very much! I'm feeling better now, thank you! :D Thanks for the review!**

 **Guest (#4): :D**

 **Jackie016: Thanks! :D**

 **Dr. Pickle 22: Hahahaha, wow, that sounds like the options I have while watching my favorite TV shows air. XD Well, I can tell you this: the further you read, the more cliffhangers you will find, and that goes for basically every single one of my stories. :/ XD I'm glad you like them so much! Thanks for the review! :)**

 **Galaxy-Mitsuko-Pegasus: Hahahaha, yep, you can expect nothing but bad things for Hiccup and his friends, 'cause that's what always ends up happening when I write a fanfic. Oh well. XD Hahaha, yep, there goes my email. I wasn't complaining, of course. :) Thanks for the review!**

 **thearizona: I...um...*cough cough* may or may not have forgotten about Ryker *cough cough*. XD Thanks for the review!**

 **22ablanchard: Yep, definitely not good. I'm glad you enjoy my writing! :D Thanks for the review!**

 **MartialArtistwithaPen: That pun, oh my gosh...it's almost as bad as a pun I would make. -_- And that's pretty bad, believe you me. XD I'm really enjoying Pride and Prejudice; Tale of Two Cities, not so much, unfortunately. :/ But oh well. XD Thanks for the review! Have a great day yourself! :D**

 **Mudsbreath: Thank you very much! :)**

 **WhovianDemiwizard: Hahahaha, yep, Ryker's alive! (I guess...) Yeeaaah not sure about Viggo, though, but hey *shrugs* ya never know, right? :) Thanks! I try not to rush, because I know how annoying it is to read rushed writing. I'm glad you're still enjoying it! (And I really need to find something to say other than "glad" all the time; it's getting tedious. XD). Haha, as long as I'm the author, chances are you'll probably ALWAYS worry about Hiccup. XD Thanks for the review!**

 **Aeon The Dimensional Girl: Hahaha I get that a lot, actually. "Queen Cliffy." XD Thanks for the review!**

 **eirayne: Aww thank you so much! You're so sweet! :D And when I said you guys broke my email in the last chapter, I wasn't complaining at all. :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **SailorMew4: Thank you! I've been feeling more like myself lately, so thanks! :D Thanks for the review! I hope you continue to like this story! :D**

 **Prince Maggie: Thank you! Yep, those hunters, man, they ain't NEVER giving up. XD Thanks for the review!**

 **boyscouts83712: Who knows? *shrugs* Maybe. XD**

 **Dimentional Phaser: True dat! XD**

 **PhantomKelpieWolf014: BUT WHY!? THEY WORKED SO HARD ON THE EDGE! And people call ME cruel. XD I am totally just kidding, seriously, just kidding. I miss Berk as much as the next person, so I sort of have to agree with ya there. XD I'm so happy you like this story so much! :D Thanks for the review!**

 **FanWriter02: Thanks! It feels great to be writing again, too! I didn't really realize how much I missed it until I came back. :) Thanks for the review! :D**

* * *

"FIRE!" the hunter shouted, putting forward his hand, and the archers fired the next round of arrows, straight towards Hiccup and Toothless, who were approaching at almost inhuman speed.

Toothless fired a single plasma blast, blowing away all the arrows like they were flies, and he shot towards the archers with a furious roar. Some of the archers dove for cover while the rest of them - the more braver ones - stayed behind, arrows at the ready, fastened in their bowstrings.

Another plasma blast silenced the rest of the archers, and Toothless touched down in the center of the ship. Instantly, they were surrounded by hunters, some drawing swords while the rest took up bows and arrows. Toothless growled, and Hiccup patted the dragon's head soothingly.

"It's okay, bud," said Hiccup, "it's okay."

Toothless calmed down considerably, but kept up his guard nonetheless. The dragon hunters suddenly stepped aside, parting like the Red Sea to make way for Ryker as he strode forward, sword held in hand, dragging at his side.

Hiccup glared. Toothless growled again. "You should turn back while you have the chance, Ryker," Hiccup said warningly. "The fight is over. Your Shellshocker is gone. We won. There's nothing left for you to do."

"Oh?" said Ryker, lifting his sword and touching its blade lightly. "Is that so, Hiccup Haddock? Whether there's nothing left to do or not, a real warrior doesn't stop fighting until his enemies are nothing more, and if you haven't noticed yet, I am a real warrior."

Hiccup didn't have time for this. With the volcano erupting and his friends trying to buy as much precious time as they could, he couldn't spend more than a few minutes dealing with Ryker and his men.

And of course Ryker was going to make this as hard as possible.

"I'll tell you what," said Ryker, giving a devilish smirk. "You give me the Dragon Eye, and my men and I will leave."

The Dragon Eye. Hiccup hadn't even given it thought since watching it drop into the bubbling lava of the volcano (followed by Viggo, of course, which he also hadn't really had time to give much thought). Ryker didn't know the Dragon Eye (or his brother) was gone.

Hiccup wasn't about to tell him, either.

"What if I _don't_ give up the Dragon Eye?" Hiccup asked suspiciously, but he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

His suspicions were confirmed when Ryker grinned, once again running his finger along the edge of the blade. "In that case," said Ryker, "we settle it the hard way."

"You could just leave us alone, too," said Hiccup pointedly. "Listen, we don't have time to fight you and your men right now. Leave, peacefully, and let us stop the volcano. We can continue this some other time."

"'Fraid not, Hiccup," said Ryker, his grin vanishing and a scowl replacing it. "I've worked too hard and waited too long for the opportunity to take back the Dragon Eye and wipe out your riders. If you don't hand over the Dragon Eye right now, my men will continue firing at you and your friends. Is that what you want?"

No, that _wasn't_ what Hiccup wanted, not by a long shot, but he had no Dragon Eye to give up, and even if he _did_ , there was always the chance he wouldn't give it up. The _last_ thing he wanted was for the Dragon Eye to be in Ryker's hands of all people.

Of course, hypothetically, because the Dragon Eye was no longer there.

"Have it your way, Ryker," said Hiccup, "but I'm not giving you the Dragon Eye." If he told Ryker that the Dragon Eye had fallen into the lava, there was no way Ryker would believe him, even for a second.

So he had to bluff. It was the only thing he could do.

"If that's what you want," said Ryker, "but I'll warn you, Hiccup. The blood of your dragon riders is on your hands." He turned his back, facing his men. "Kill them."

The dragon hunters carrying weapons charged at Hiccup and Toothless, and the archers went right back to their stations, aiming their next round of dragon root arrows up at the dragons and riders circling the ominous volcano.

Hiccup dismounted Toothless and drew Inferno, igniting the fiery blade as quickly as possible. "Take out the archers, Toothless!" said Hiccup. "I'll cover you!"

Toothless growled in agreement and did just that, shooting plasma blasts at the feet of the archers. Some of them were blown into the ocean while others tumbled backwards onto the deck, their arrows flying so poorly it was pathetic. Meanwhile, Hiccup ran up against the first dragon hunter to attack. The dragon hunter swung his axe, Hiccup ducked, and Toothless swiped his tail, sending the assailing hunter off the ship and into the ocean.

"Thanks, bud!" said Hiccup, moving against the next hunter. "But I'm supposed to be the one covering for you, remember?"

Toothless rolled his eyes. It took only a matter of minutes before the archers were disarmed, their arrows and bows and even themselves in the ocean. Hiccup turned, mounted Toothless, and the Night Fury took to the air once more.

"That should keep them at bay for a while," Hiccup said, looking down at the ships, "but I'm sure Ryker isn't going to give up that easily. Come on, we should check back with the others while we still have the chance, see how stopping the lava is going."

Toothless turned and flew off in that direction, leaving the dragon hunters in his wake.

…

Ryker watched Toothless and Hiccup vanish into the thick smoke rising from the volcano, his eyes hard. Behind him, his men were dragging precious dragon root arrows and bows from the ocean, mending the ones that were broken, preparing to fire them once again.

"Hiccup…" Ryker growled lowly. "I swear, this battle will be your last…" He turned back and looked towards the nearest hunter, who was using strong cloth to mend an arrow that had been snapped in two.

"You!" said Ryker, pointing, and the hunter jumped up, snapping to attention, the arrow falling, completely forgotten, to the deck. "Bring me my bow and arrows," Ryker commanded. "We finish this today."

The hunter nodded and scampered off, disappearing below the ship's deck a moment later.

…

"I think the lava flow is subsiding!" Fishlegs shouted over the sky to Astrid, Heather, Snotlout, and the twins. "We're doing it! Just a little more effort, and I think we can save the Edge!"

Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other oddly for a moment or two. "Wait, you mean all of this was to _stop_ the lava?" said Tuffnut, and he crossed his arms. "I feel cheated…"

"Would you rather watch your huts get burned to the ground!?" Snotlout snapped, leaning over Hookfang to stare at the twins.

"Yeah, well, we kinda do that anyway, don't we?" said Tuffnut. "Don't we usually burn our own huts down, Ruffnut?"

"Yeah, we do," said Ruffnut, "but it'd be so much cooler to watch the volcano do it…"

"YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT WANTING TO SAVE YOUR HUT TEN MINUTES AGO!" Snotlout shouted, throwing his hands into the air. "Would you just make up your minds!?"

"Looks like _someone_ woke up on the wrong side of the volcanic eruption," said Tuffnut lowly.

"I guess not everyone sees the volcano as half full," said Ruffnut, shrugging. "Guess the negative people will always see the volcano as half _empty_."

"THE VOLCANO _IS_ HALF FULL!" said Snotlout. "NOT ONLY THAT, IT'S _OVERFLOWING!_ AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM!"

"We're wasting time!" Astrid said. "We need to finish the moat before the lava reaches it! If we can dig it just a little deeper, I think we can pull this off!"

"We won't know until we try!" said Heather. "This is our last chance! We have to make it count!"

"Astrid!" Hiccup's voice carried over the sky, and Astrid spun around, just as Hiccup and Toothless arrived.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted back to him. "Did you stop the hunters?"

"For a while, at least," said Hiccup, "but it won't last very long. How's the moat coming?"

"I think it's going great!" said Ruffnut, grinning. "No thanks to _Snotface_ over there…"

"I did more work than the both of you _combined_ have _ever_ done!" Snotlout jabbed.

"The moat's almost there, Hiccup," Fishlegs informed helpfully, while Snotlout and the twins kept bickering in the background. "But it needs to be deeper. We put up as many blocks as we can, but they're only going to last for so long."

"So what we really need to do," said Hiccup, "is finish the moat, before the lava reaches us, and before the hunters regroup."

And with that, the riders dispersed, and their dragons shot back towards the ground, towards the volcano's lava still steadily moving down the mountain.

…

"Your arrows, Ryker, sir!" said the dragon hunter as he returned to the upper deck of the ship, bow and quiver of arrows in hand. Ryker ripped both from the hunter's grasp and strung the quiver around his back, while he kept his bow held tight in hand.

The remaining catapults were loaded onto the ships. What archers remained were at the ready. Bola launchers were all over the place, along with some impressive grappling chains and winches, both dragon-proof.

Everything was in place.

"Now we just need to wait for the right opportunity," said Ryker, watching the sky like a hawk.

* * *

 **HOLD UP!**

 **Got a message for ya guys! (Okay, so not for _all_ you guys - specifically the Guest reviewers. If you're not a Guest reviewer, than this message doesn't involve you. :D)**

 **So, a lot of you already do this, but something that helps me write shout-outs is if you have a name attached to your review. So, for the Guest reviewers who don't add names to their reviews, it would help me a lot if you would maybe call yourself something, or sign the end of your review with a nickname/penname/username or whatnot, just so I don't have to keep writing #1 or #2 for the Guest reviewers in the shout-outs, because that gets confusing for everyone.**

 **You took your time to review, so I want to take my time and reply to your review, and it's a little trickier to do when five+ of you have the same "guest" name. XD**

 **So, that's just a small request. If you don't do it, that's fine; I won't get mad at you or anything, so don't worry about that. :D I love you guys all, and that's the only reason I'm asking this. :D**

 **Anyways, thanks for your reviews, and I hope to see you all next chapter! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

***crawls up steep mountain slope***

 **I...I...I can do it...just...just a little further...bleh.**

 ***dies***

 **WHATUP, PEOPLE!? IT'S YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD CAFFINATED INSANE SLEEP-DEPRIVED BEYONDTHECLOUDS HERE TO DELIVER THE NEXT CHAPTER IN THIS TRAIN WRECK OF A FANFICTION! HAAAIIIYYYAAA!**

 **Okay so despite popular opinion I'm not actually going insane. :/ I am SO SORRY I didn't update yesterday! I felt really bad about it. I was playing volleyball literally 80% of yesterday and then after that I had to babysit and didn't get to bed until around midnight and TODAY I spent most my time editing as a sort-of part-time job so I've been crazy, crazy busy lately. :(**

 **BUT HERE'S THE CHAPTER! :D :D :D I HOPE YOU ENJOY!**

 **Real quick, shout-out to DragonKid310 who wanted me to say hi to them. Sooooo, HEEEEELLLLLLLLLOOOOOOO! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D**

 **MissPitchPerfect25: Thanks! :)**

 **Mudsbreath: That's a thought, sure! Let's go with that! :)**

 **ApplesEvilPie: Hahahaha! Well, however he managed it, Ryker's obviously alive now, ain't he? XD And you're right. This is fanfiction! I have complete freedom! Heh heh heh...XD No worries; I ramble too much for my own good, too, so you're fine. XD**

 **Iris Patton: NNOOOOO! DON'T GO! *reaches out hand dramatically* NNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!**

 **FuryanJedi13: Haha, thanks! I do try my best in keeping characters in-character. :) Thanks for the review!**

 **boyscouts83712: Thanks! :D**

 **Guest52 Exactly: Me: *holds up finger* *stops* "How did they make it, Kronk?" Kronk: "Well you got me. By all accounts it doesn't make sense." (Just kidding, just kidding; Toothless is very good at evading soldiers. Once the archers were taken care of, Hiccup and Toothless just left, 'cause once they're in the air, there's not much on-the-ground soldiers can do. :D)**

 **Galaxy-Mitsuko: Yep, you know me too well. It's all downhill from here, ain't it. XD Thanks for the review! :)**

 **Guest (#1): YYAAS YOU'RE WELCOME :D**

 **DragonKid310: That's exactly what I would do if I ever had my own room (except I would probably mix the dragon with some anime XD). Very nice! *thumbs up* I think I'll definitely do some Heather and Astrid bonding later on in this "season" because those two are awesome. :) And I said hi in the introduction...thingy! XD Thanks for the review! :D**

 **SnivyDragon: Gah! I knew "Shellshocker" sounded wrong...thanks for the imput! Literally no one else actually noticed/mentioned it...but yeah, seriously, poor Hiccup. This guy deals with way too much. XD I'm really glad no one minded that Ryker survived. I mean seriously, literally everyone is like "Haha Ryker's supposed to be dead but he's alive whateves." It's really cool, actually. I was worried people would be upset at first...XD Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Dimentional Phaser: BUT WHAT IF VIGGO COMES BACK AS DARTH VADER oh wait wrong fandom ne-mind. XD Thanks for the review! :D**

 **WhovianDemiwizard: Hahahaha, I seriously don't mind at all! Actually I grin like an idiot whenever I read reviews, even if it's just people telling me that "they love the story" over and over. I love feedback, and it's even better when it's positive, 'cause it lets me know I'm doing a good job. :D Thank you so much for all your kind words! I mean seriously, I'm not kidding when I said that I grin like an idiot, 'cause I really. Do. Grin. Like. An. Idiot. (I've said that three times already whoops XD). I know, totally; as an older sibling with lots of little brothers, I can back that up. Who knows what'll happen when he finds out? *shrugs* Thanks for the review, and don't think for ONE SECOND that I get tired of seeing them ('cause I don't). :D**

 **SailorMew4: Seriously Hiccup, watch out. 0_0**

 **MissLC: I KNOW, RIGHT!? Give up, Ryker! (grrrrrrr) XD**

 **Hard to impress: Aww, thanks! Good to hear! :D Now that you mention it, I think having the hooded guy would be a pretty cool idea! I was kinda debating whether or not to use him, but now that you've brought it up, I think I will. :) As far as it being related to the first season I wrote...hmm...I haven't actually decided yet. :) Haha! Well, if you remember the third thing, let me know! XD Thanks for the review! :D**

 **TheMightyMuffin: Thanks a bunch! I'm glad you enjoy it! :D**

 **xHiccup: Hiiiii! :D I know, I wish I could post more often, too, but alas...*sigh*...Life. :) Thanks for reviewing! It's pretty cool that you've stuck with my stories for this long, ever since the beginning, actually! :D As far as I'm concerned, writing will always be a part of me until the day I die. :) Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Sadie: I LOVE anime! I'll have to check that out! :D Thanks for reviewing (and leaving your name, too :D). I'm glad you like my stories! :D**

 **Jasmine: Thank you very much! It's good to know like all my stuff! :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Epona: No worries! :D Haha, yep! I've always loved paying attention to the little details! (However the fact that Ryker totally DROWNED in that last episode went completely over my head...XD) I think I am going to use Krogan in a future "episode." I feel like there's a lot I could do with his character since we know virtually nothing about him yet. It'd be interesting to try. :) Thanks for the review!**

 **Kit-Kat: You're welcome! Thank you so much for saying so! :D It's really good to know that I'm keeping everyone in character! Characters that are written "out of character" bother me so much. :/ Which is why I always try to avoid it! :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Astrid Lokison: Ryker will NEVER give up as long as he lives. :/ I know, it bothers me, too. JUST GIVE UP ALREADY! And thank you! I haven't had a migraine for a couple of days now, actually, so I'm really happy! :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **The Dreaming Dragon: Haha, awww, thank you! :D**

 **Red Raven Quarrells: Thank you! I always do my best to make sure my readers don't waste their time on poorly written stories, so I give it my all when I write! :D Thanks for the review!**

 **thearizona: Haha, thanks! Yeah, this should be interesting. :)**

 **Akozu Heiwa: Haha, no worries! XD And thanks! It's nice to meet you! :) I'm glad you like my work, and I hope you continue to do so! :D Thanks for the review! :)**

 **MartialArtistwithaPen: Yep! I do, too! (Which is why I used it...XD). Haha, yeah, the "cup half full thing..." Definitely a totally different story when it comes to a volcano. :) Thanks for the review! :D**

 **AquaticDragon: Thanks! :D**

 **22ablanchard: Haha, I know, right? That's exactly how I feel about the hunters, too. :)**

 **Aeon The Dimensional Girl: Umm...you meant you'd hunt Ryker down, not me, right? *hides plot-twist discreetly behind back* I'm totally innocent. Don't mind me. (XD) Thanks for the review! :D**

 **FanWriter02: Thanks! :D And haha, that's good; I'm glad everyone is cool with Ryker being alive. :) Thanks for the review! :D**

* * *

"Tuffnut and Ruffnut, oy, oy, oy!" cheered the twins merrily as their dragon shot through the sky towards the volcano, Barf breathing gas as they flew and Belch waiting for just the right opportunity to spark.

"Hey! That's _my_ battlecry!" said Snotlout angrily. "Go get your own!"

He was ignored by the twins, who kept chanting, over and over again, almost like they were _trying_ to annoy him, "Tuffnut and Ruffnut, oy, oy, oy! Tuffnut and Ruffnut, oy, oy, oy!"

"I hate you both," said Snotlout, putting his head in his hands. "Come on, Hookfang! We aren't going to let those lunatics show us up!"

Hookfang growled, narrowed his eyes, lit himself on fire, and launched himself at the boat. He breathed fire straight into it and then circled all the way around in a ring, following the moat. Meanwhile, above, Hiccup and Toothless fired plasma blasts into the areas where the lava was coming down faster, and Stormfly, Windshear, and Meatlug had abandoned building their dams to focus on the moat.

It was all riding on the moat. The whole of Dragon's Edge as they knew it was riding on this small, insignificant _moat_ , of all things.

This was it.. This was their chance. They had to do it now or they would never have another opportunity to save their home-

"Arrows, five o'clock!" Astrid shouted, pointing wildly.

Tuffnut pulled a miniature, pocket sun-dial out of nowhere and stared at it. "How could you possibly know that?" he asked Astrid. A moment later, Barf and Belch were swerving out of control to avoid being hit by a shower of dragon root arrows.

"That sure didn't hold them back for long!" said Snotlout snarkily. "Hey, Hiccup! I don't know _what_ you did, but do you think you could maybe do it a little bit _better_ next time!? If I get shot and _die_ -"

"It'll be awesome?" offered Ruffnut.

"NO!" snapped Snotlout, and he pointed at Hiccup. "It'll be _your fault_ , Hiccup! You hear me!?"

"I knew it wouldn't take long for them to regroup," said Hiccup under his breath, hating himself for not doing a more thorough job of disarming Ryker's archers. "Everyone, continue on here! I'm going to go back!"

"Okay!" said Snotlout, as Hookfang shot upwards to avoid more arrows. "Just remember to actually _stop them_ this time, Hiccup!"

Toothless growled at Snotlout, who instantly shut up, and then the Night Fury soared overhead, back towards the ships.

…

"FIRE!"

Bolas shot from the ships, straight towards Hiccup and Toothless. Toothless spun out of the way, dodging, and then fired a plasma blast in return. He took out one bola, the hunter manning it getting thrown back into the ocean, but the next round of bolas was already being fired.

"Watch out, bud!" Hiccup shouted, and Toothless did just that, spinning through the air to avoid bola after bola - and then, the archers started shooting their arrows at them.

"Oh, come _on!"_ Hiccup groaned. Toothless dove down to avoid the arrows, but then the bolas were back. "These guys just don't give up, do they, bud?"

Toothless growled his agreement and fired a plasma blast at the incoming bolas. This was ridiculous.

"Ryker! I'll give you one more chance to turn back!" said Hiccup warningly. Ryker, standing beside his archers on the ship, smiled menacingly.

"It is I who should be saying that to you," said Ryker, and he grabbed an arrow from his quiver, fastened it in his bow, pulled back tight, and fired.

Toothless dodged the arrow, but Ryker's aim was flawless. If Toothless had been just a second too late in moving, Ryker's arrow would have met its mark. Hiccup watched as the arrow fell into the ocean with a soft splash, and then turned back to Ryker.

"Okay, _that_ was a little too close," said Hiccup. "Come on, bud, let's finish this."

Toothless sucked in a deep breath….

"YOU FIENDS! STAY AWAY FROM MY DEAR BROTHER!"

...And stopped at the last second, frowning in confusion. Hiccup stared, disbelieving, as a blur of green shot past them and barreled into the side of Ryker's mothership. Half of the crew was blown off their feet, the rest barely maintaining their balance.

"Dagur!?" Hiccup said in shock. "What in the name of Thor!?"

Said Dagur the Deranged and his dragon Shattermaster moved from the ships and towards Hiccup and Toothless.

"Well, Shattermaster decided he was okay to fly," said Dagur, grinning, "so we came to your aid! No one messes with our brother without paying the price!"

Chances were Shattermaster didn't know exactly what his rider was talking about, but the dragon still growled in agreement.

"We can sink the ships!" said Dagur wildly, pumping one fist into the air; his fingers were closed around a large, steel axe, which Hiccup assumed he'd stolen from the hunters. "You take out the archers and the bola launchers, Hiccup!"

"Will do," said Hiccup with a firm nod, and Dagur turned his dragon and flew off, shrieking maniacally as he did so.

Toothless looked up at Hiccup with a confused warble, Dagur's battlecry still echoing throughout the sky.

"Yeah, I know, bud," said Hiccup, shaking his head. "I'm not used to being on the same side as him, either." It was definitely going to take some getting used to, but they could think about that later.

Right now, they had to take out those archers - specifically Ryker, now that the elder Grimborn had his own archery equipment.

"Let's go, bud!" Hiccup shouted, and Toothless charged. The archers were on them in an instant, aiming and firing in a split second, and Toothless dodged every single attack that came their way.

Next came the round of bolas, which was nearly as easy as dodging the arrows. The hunters were firing the arrows, and then the bolas back-to-back as quickly as they could, over and over again. Arrows, bolas, arrows, bolas, arrows, bolas…

"They're not giving us a chance to recover," Hiccup realized, as Toothless spun out of the way of the arrows, and then bolas an instant later. "I'll bet anything Ryker learned that trick from Viggo…"

Toothless growled and dodged again. This was getting tedious, and Hiccup was growing more and more frustrated by the second.

Dagur and Shattermaster crashed headlong into another ship's dragon-proof hull, creating a huge, gaping hole which let in tremendous amounts of seawater. The ship began to sink in an instant, its crew diving overboard.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Dagur cackled. "That's how we do it, Shattermaster! Let's get another one!" The Gronckle nodded and soared off towards the next nearest ship.

All the while, Hiccup drew the attention away from Dagur and upon himself.

"There! The Gronckle! Take them down!" a hunter shouted, and all archers turned their bows towards Dagur and Shattermaster. Before they had the chance to release their arrows, Toothless fired a plasma blast right in front of them, blowing them off their feet and onto the deck behind them.

"If you want to get to them," said Hiccup, "then you're gonna have to get through us!"

If glares could kill, Ryker would have won this battle on the spot. He grabbed an arrow from his quiver, fastened it, and let it fly. Toothless dodged, but it was even closer than it had been the last time.

Ryker's arrows were fast, cutting through the sky faster than any dragon Hiccup had ever seen. It was a miracle Toothless was able to keep up with them so far.

"Okay, bud, we need to end this soon," said Hiccup. Behind them, he heard the screams of dragon hunters, followed by Dagur's deranged cackle and the sounds of water gushing into a ship.

"Retreat while you can, Ryker!" Hiccup shouted.

Ryker glared, fastening another arrow into his bow. "Never!" he shouted back, and he released the arrow.

This time, though, he wasn't aiming for Toothless.

Hiccup barely had the chance to think. Toothless swerved, and Hiccup moved, too.

The arrow cut past him, grazing his upper forearm.

"Gah!" Hiccup shouted, reaching up and clasping his hand around the gash. Toothless warbled, concerned, looking up at his rider worriedly. "It's okay, bud," Hiccup assured, wincing. "It just grazed me. It's fine."

Toothless didn't look wholly convinced. Dagur sunk another dragon hunter vessel while Hiccup tore the hem of his tunic and fastened it around the gash to stem the bleeding.

"COWARDS!" Dagur shouted, raising his axe over his head. "FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"

The dragon hunters had _no_ intention of "fighting Dagur like a man", especially when he already sunk three of their very few remaining ships. The dragon hunters turned their vessels around and sailed in the opposite direction, away from Dagur and Shattermaster, heading back in the direction of their base.

The only ship that had yet to move was Ryker's mothership, the ship Ryker and the majority of his crew were stationed on.

"Ryker, sir, we have to turn back now," said one of the hunters. "If they keep sinking our ships, we won't be able to regroup."

Ryker glared harshly at Hiccup, and then over at Dagur and Shattermaster, who were pursuing the retreating ships.

"COME ON!" Dagur taunted, grinning wildly. "FIGHT ME! YOU _KNOW_ YOU _WAAAAANT TOOOOO!"_

The dragon hunters most certainly did _not_ want to.

Ryker raised his hand, pointing up at Hiccup and Toothless. "You haven't won, Hiccup Haddock!" he shouted, while the captain of the ship turned and followed the rest of the ships back to their base. "This is just the beginning!"

Toothless growled lowly; Hiccup patted his head gently.

"Brother!" Dagur called, moving Shattermaster to flank Hiccup and Toothless, sheathing his axe as he went. "We should follow them and take them out while we still have the chance! I'm not through with those guys…" For emphasis, he pounded a balled fist into his open palm, glaring harshly at the retreating ships.

"No," said Hiccup. "We can't. We have bigger things to deal with right now."

Behind him, the volcano rumbled again. Dagur and Hiccup watched, along with their dragons.

"Let's go," Hiccup said, and they took off in that direction.

* * *

 **REAL QUICK:**

 **I know on my profile it says the official release date for Part 2 of this "Fire and Brimstone" thing is to be released on April 1st, but due to this story's kind of inconscistant updating schedule and my own inconscistant life, I mmaaaaayyy have to push it back a bit further to like, let's say, April 10th instead. I'm sorry about the inconvinience, guys. I just wanted to let you all know ahead of time.**

 **Thanks for your understanding! You can all continue your lives now! XD**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys!**

 **So sorry for the long wait. I sort of...erm...sprained my index finger during drama class (we were doing a Minecraft Skit, I was a skeleton, and then I died, so I laid on the ground, then someone was running when they weren't supposed to and they tripped, caught themselves, and landed right on my finger), which made typing super hard (btw, if you notice any typos, just blame my sprained finger, 'kay?).**

 **And this also means no shout-outs this chapter. BUT I WILL DO THEM NEXT TIME I PROMISE!**

 **I'm going to answer a few general questions, though, before I go:**

 **All RttE B Season episodes have either six, seven, or eight chapters. This one, if all goes as planned, will probably have seven. **

**And someone was asking for anime reccommendations, so here: Death Note (mystery, crime, psychological), ERASED (drama, crime, time travel), Haikyuu! (sports, action), Death Parade (tears), Your Lie in April (more tears), and 3-Gatsu no Lion (the most beautiful slice-of-life I've ever watched).**

 **And that's all! I love you beautiful people so much! :D See you next time! :D**

* * *

"Go, go, go!" Astrid said, as Stormfly circled over the moat, breathing fire all the while. "Come on, guys! We can still win this thing!"

The other riders were circling the volcano as well, deepening it with their dragons' respective fires. The twins were doing the most damage with Barf and Belch, either because their dragon was more suited for the job or because the twins were having a little too much fun with it. No one really knew, and no one really cared.

It was working, and that was really all that mattered.

"Go Barf, go Belch!" said Ruffnut. "Let's show up old Snottyface! Of course, showing him up isn't going to be a _real_ challenge…"

"Ah, I concur with you, dear sister," said Tuffnut pointedly, raising a finger. "Poor old Snotlout, so young, so helpless, so…"

"Shut your traps!" Snotlout snapped furiously; he was mounted on Hookfang, just below the twins and able to overhear their conversation.

"...So blatantly _annoying_ ," finished Tuffnut.

"I hate both of you!"

"Yes," said Ruffnut, scratching her chin in thought. "Actually, I'm pretty sure the rest of the riders _already_ need us more than they need Snotlout."

"You know what!? I swear, I'm gonna throw you both straight into this stupid volcano!"said Snotlout loudly, glaring.

"Is that a threat?" asked Ruffnut, curiously.

"Eh, well, if it _was_ ," said Tuffnut, shrugging, "it wasn't a very good one."

Snotlout groaned loudly, muttered a final "Morons", and then flew Hookfang in the opposite direction, circling around the volcano once more to further deepen the moat.

Meanwhile, Meatlug flew below, scooping out rocks in the moat that weren't blasted away by the fire of the other dragons, and Heather and Windshear came behind him, the Razorwhip carving out the moat in the Gronckle's wake.

"Okay, Meatlug, let's let the twins and Snotlout finish this up!" said Fishlegs, and he, Meatlug, Heather, and Windshear pulled up. The instant they were safely in the air, Snotlout and the twins barreled in on their dragons, breathing fire and explosive gas collectively.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were still rambling on to each other.

"You know," said Tuffnut in a low whisper, "maybe we can start ordering Snotlout around, seeing as how we've surpassed him."

Snotlout, ever the nosy eavesdropped he was, heard every word of it. "Oh my _Thor!"_ he said. "Forget throwing _you_ into the volcano! I'll throw _myself_ in! It'd be easier than listening to you two _muttonheads_ talk!"

"You know," said Ruffnut, "that'd actually be pretty funny, so why not?"

Snotlout growled lowly and ignored them.

"It's working!" squealed Fishlegs excitedly, watching their progress from the air. "It's working! We're doing it!"

"Now let's finish it!" said Astrid, and Stormfly, Meatlug, and Windshear launched themselves at the volcano. The flow of lava was ebbing from the volcano, while the expelled lava continued down the face of the mountain.

But the moat was deep, thanks to the help of the dragons. Astrid was positive they would be able to pull this off.

"Stormfly, there!" Astrid directed, pointing, and Stormfly blasted fire right where she was supposed to, leveling out a slightly more shallow section of the moat. "Nice going!" Astrid cheered, and Stormfly chirped her thanks.

At that moment, Toothless and Shattermaster swooped through the sky, their respective riders mounted on their backs. Astrid was the first to notice, and she smiled, already steering Stormfly to meet them.

"Hiccup!" she said. "And…" She frowned. "And Dagur."

"WAHAHAHAHAHA!" cheered Dagur. "We made 'em run with their tails between their legs! You should have seen it, blondie, it was _incredible!"_

"The hunters retreated," Hiccup told her. "We sank a lot of their ships and disarmed most of their weapons. They left for their base, which gives us time to deal with the volcano."

" _I_ wanted to go after them," said Dagur, crossing his arms.

"Well, it's a good thing you didn't," said Astrid, "because we need all the help we can get finishing the moat. The lava's almost here."

Hiccup looked up to see what she meant. The lava was pouring down the mountainside, far closer to the moat than it had been before. There was no more lava coming from the top, which was _beyond_ relieving.

"You're right," Hiccup said. "Let's finish the moat."

Just before they turned and headed off, Astrid noticed something. "Hiccup, what happened to your arm?" she asked, concerned, raising a finger to point.

Hiccup looked towards his arm, the one with the piece of his shirt tied around it. "One of Ryker's arrows grazed me," Hiccup explained. "Don't worry, it's fine."

"Wait, Ryker _hurt you!?"_ said Dagur. "Okay, you know what? _You_ guys stop the volcano; _I'm_ going to go after Mr. Ryker and give him what for!" He drew his axe again as if to prove his point.

"No, Dagur," Hiccup said. "We can deal with the hunters some other time. We have much more pressing matters at hand right now."

Dagur groaned. "Fine," he said, sheathing his axe, "but next time, I'm going all out! No one gets to hurt my brother without dealing with me!"

Dagur and Shattermaster headed towards the ground to help Fishlegs and Meatlug. Astrid and Hiccup remained behind for a little longer.

"You promise it's just a graze?" said Astrid suspiciously. "I know how you are, Hiccup. You aren't lying to me so I won't make you sit out, are you?"

"No, I'm not lying," said Hiccup, "I promise you that. It's not bad. It barely even hurts anymore."

"Alright," said Astrid, "then let's go take care of the volcano."

Hiccup nodded, and Toothless and Stormfly flew off.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut watched them go from the back of their dragon, watching until both Hiccup and Astrid were out of sight.

Ruffnut sighed. "Look at them, so blissfully unaware of how much they care about each other," Ruffnut said, resting her chin on her knuckles. She had an almost dreamy look in her eyes. "Don't you just _love_ young love, brother?"

"That I do, sister, that I do," agreed Tuffnut breathlessly, nodding firmly.

"What do you mean, 'blissfully unaware'? They literally just started courting!" Snotlout told them, annoyed.

Ruffnut groaned and threw back her head. "Ugh! Can't we ever get some peace and quiet around here!?" she said. "No, of _course not_ , because Snotlout has to come, and butt his _stupid head_ , into EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR CONVERSATIONS!"

"Hang on a sec, sis," said Tuffnut, and Ruffnut stopped yelling to listen to her brother. "If Hiccup and Astrid are _courting_ …" He took his index fingers of both hands and touched the tips together. "Then that means…" He gasped, his face lighting up. "YES! Finally!" he said excitedly, pounding his fists into the air. "I've shipped it for years, and now it's sailed! My ship has sailed!"

"What?" Snotlout deadpanned.

"Nevermind _you_ , you meddling meddler," said Ruffnut warningly.

" _What?"_

"Begone, heathen!" said Tuffnut. "You have no place amongst us!" And he and his sister soared off on Barf and Belch to continue digging to the nearly finished moat below. Snotlout pursued them on Hookfang.

...

"Toothless, plasma blast, right there!" Hiccup instructed, pointing, and Toothless did just that, firing a plasma blast and landing it right where he was supposed to. "Yeah! Great going, Toothless!"

Toothless growled and continued on, soaring over the volcano. It had stopped rumbling and spewing lava, which was a relief to each and every one of the dragon riders. Now, if the moat was deep and wide enough, the problem of the lava would also be taken care of.

"We can do this," Hiccup said, mostly to himself as he leaned over Toothless. "We have to do this."

If they _couldn't_ do this, they'd lose the entire Edge, and all the inhabiting dragons would lose their homes. Those were both things the riders couldn't risk happening.

"Keep blasting away the dirt!" Hiccup shouted. The air was still smoky, but not as bad as it had been before, so he could see relatively clearly. "Ruff, Tuff, don't you _dare_ try to touch the lava!"

The twins pulled back their hands and looked up innocently, flashing Hiccup a pair of toothy smiles. Hiccup rolled his eyes and went straight back to the task at hand.

"Let's go, Shattermaster!" said Dagur grandly, and his dragon obliged, dropping from the sky and to the ground. The Gronckle gobbled up a stubborn rock, and then took air once again to let Hookfang and Barf and Belch take over.

"Hiccup, I think it's working!" Astrid said, moving Stormfly to hover in the air beside him.

Hiccup nodded firmly, unable to stop the smile that spread across his face. "I think it is!" he agreed. "Everyone, take to the air! The lava's almost on top of us!"

"It's so pretty," said Tuffnut, reaching out a hand. "If I could just touch-"

"TUFFNUT!" Hiccup yelled, making said twin jump - he nearly fell off his dragon he was so startled. "Up! Now!"

Tuffnut withdrew his hand with a sad sigh, and he and his sister joined Hiccup and Astrid in the sky. Soon afterwards, Hookfang and Snotlout did the same, and bringing up the rear came Dagur and Shattermaster, Fishlegs and Meatlug, and Heather and Windshear.

"Here we go," Hiccup said, biting his lip.

"Please work, please work, please work, please work," Fishlegs whimpered, over and over and over again, as the lava approached the moat.

"This had _better_ work!" said Snotlout, crossing his arms. "Hookfang and I worked our _butts_ off! It _has_ to work!" But even as he said it, he didn't look one hundred percent positive.

"La-va, la-va, la-va," Ruffnut and Tuffnut chanted, knocking their fists against their knees with every syllable. "La-va, la-va, la-va, la-va, la-"

"Can you guys please-" Hiccup started, but was cut off when Dagur, too, began chanting along with the twins.

"La-va, la-va, la-va-"

"Guys, seriously-"

"LA-VA, LA-VA, LA-VA-!"

"IT'S TOO MUCH!" Snotlout finally exploded, effortlessly shutting Dagur, Ruffnut and Tuffnut up. "STOP!"

"Dagur, you know better to encourage them," Hiccup groaned, and then, he backtracked. "Oh, wait, no you don't, nevermind."

"Here it comes!" cried Fishlegs, biting his fingernails. "Oh Thor, oh Thor, oh Thor!"

In a mere whisper came the twins, "La-va, la-va, la-va-"

"CAN SOMEONE PLEASE STOP THEM!?" Snotlout begged.

The lava began to pour into the moat, and the other riders watched from the sky anxiously, hoping it was enough to stop the Edge's destruction.


	6. Chapter 6

**You guys are going to be mad at me.**

 **Okay. So...I just jammed _another_ finger while playing basketball with my bros, so...I...took a lot longer than usual to get this one out. **

**I AM SORRY OKAY? I'M JUST AS MAD ABOUT THIS AS YOU ALL ARE. I CAN'T PLAY MY PIANO ANYMORE! _WHY!?_ *bangs head repeatedly against my keyboard* WHY. WHY. WHY. WHY. WHY. **

**That, and I've been sick for the past week with some weird, cruddy throat-nose-head cold, so...yeah, that stinks, too.**

 **Oh, and random thought; speaking of my piano, I'm planning on starting a YouTube channel soon for some of my piano transcriptions. I've covered "The Vikings Have Their Tea" and "Where No One Goes" and a whole lot of anime openings, so if anyone's interested I'll put a link to it on my profile once I've started it.**

 **Of course that's only if you guys are interested...**

 **Anyways...you're going to be mad at me for this, too...but I'm going to have to do shout-outs in the next chapter. I feel really, really bad, because I promised I would do them this chapter in the last chapter, but my finger is KILLING me, and I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer for a chapter.**

 **SO I WILL DO SHOUT-OUTS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER (which will also be the LAST chapter). BECAUSE YOU GUYS DESERVE SHOUT-OUTS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND YOU'RE ALL SO PRECIOUS TO ME!**

 **Enjoy the chapter! :D I'll see you guys soon (when my finger gets better)!**

* * *

The lava poured over the side and into the moat. The riders watched on. If it was too shallow, if there was _anything_ wrong at all, it was too late to fix it now. All they could do was wait and watch, and hope that all would be well in the end.

The lava was in the moat, and the moat was filling rapidly.

"Oh Thor, oh Thor, oh Thor, oh Thor," Fishlegs said; he was the only rider to voice his concerns out loud. Everyone else remained silent, watching and waiting.

The whole of the lava filled the moat. It overflowed just slightly here and there, but other than that, the moat contained the volcano's eruption.

"YEAH!" Hiccup cheered, throwing his hands into the air. Fishlegs fell backwards against Meatlug's back, his hand over his heart. The twins high-fived and bashed their heads together in celebration with a loud exclamation of "WAHOO!" Snotlout said proudly, "See? Ha! Told you we could do it!" and Hookfang snorted and set himself on fire, which shut Snotlout up pretty quickly. Heather fist-pumped while Dagur laughed maniacally, and Astrid threw her hands into the air.

"Great job, everybody!" Hiccup congratulated, feeling dizzy with relief - and maybe because he spent so much time near the lava, too. "Come on, let's take care of the leaks, and then we're done here!"

"Can do, H.!" said Tuffnut, pointing two gun-fingers at Hiccup, and the riders soared, once again, towards the moat.

…

Taking care of the small trickles of overflowing lava was a walk in the park compared to building the moat. It took the riders a grand total of ten minutes before they finished the job and regrouped, with their dragons, at the Clubhouse.

"Did you see all that lava!?" Tuffnut asked excitedly as he and his sister dismounted Barf and Belch; across from them, Snotlout was wiping soot off his face and patting out small fires in his clothes (courtesy of Hookfang) and everyone else sat at the table in the center of the room.

Fishlegs was the only rider absent at the time. He had taken the baby Eruptodon out for a snack (the dragon had been holed up in the Clubhouse during the entire volcano fiasco). But other than that, the other dragons and their riders were all present.

"It was so beautiful," said Tuffnut dreamily. "So hot and so red and so...so...dangerous. Oh, what I wouldn't give to be able to hold it lovingly in my arms, and then cause total destruction with it…"

Hiccup, Heather and Astrid stared at him, too used to Tuffnut's insanity to be surprised, while Dagur looked impressed and Snotlout looked mildly horrified.

"...Okay," Hiccup said, turning away from Tuffnut, "is anybody hurt? Anyone hiding anything I should know about?"

"I think Tuffnut hit his head pretty hard somewhere," said Snotlout, jabbing his thumb at Tuffnut over his shoulder, "but that happened a _long_ time ago, so there's no helping him now-"

"He means during the fight against the hunters and digging the moat around the volcano, Snotlout," Astrid said, looking every bit as fed up as she sounded.

"Oh, right," said Snotlout, "well, in _that_ case, yes, I did get hurt, Hiccup. By _this_ thing." He jabbed his thumb again, this time at Hookfang, and in response, the Monstrous Nightmare set Snotlout's helmet on fire.

"That happens all the time _anyway_ , Snotlout," said Astrid, as Snotlout ripped his helmet off his head, threw it on the ground, and stomped out the flames.

"She has a point," said Heather. "Doesn't Hookfang _usually_ hurt you?"

"Oh, Heather!" Snotlout said, all anger towards Hookfang forgotten. "You _do_ care!" He ran towards her, arms outstretched and eyes closed, and Heather moved her foot right in front of his feet. He tripped, tumbled for a good five seconds, and finally hit the wall.

The twins cackled loudly, pointing. "Look at that!" said Ruffnut, barely able to speak she was laughing so hard. Tuffnut fell on the floor, literally rolling around laughing. "Tough love!"

"Yea-hahaha!" Tuffnut agreed.

"Lay off," Snotlout grumbled, getting to his feet. "At least I _have_ a love life."

Heather, Hiccup, and Astrid exchanged looks, and then cracked a smile in unison.

"Hey! Don't you mock me!" Snotlout said, but nobody paid him any mind.

Fishlegs chose that moment to arrive, flying through the Clubhouse's open door atop Meatlug, the baby Eruptodon held tightly in his arms. "I'm back!" he said, dismounting once Meatlug landed.

Fishlegs paused, staring at Tuffnut, still rolling on the floor and laughing like a hyena. Fishlegs then raised his head, looking at Hiccup in question.

Hiccup shrugged, as did Astrid, and Fishlegs shook his head. "Anyways," said Fishlegs, "now that the hunters are gone and the Shellshocker is destroyed, I think it's safe to bring this little guy back to his home!"

The Eruptodon growled and nodded, and Fishlegs scratched the dragon's head with a smile.

"Wait, now?" said Tuffnut, his laughter ending abruptly, and he jumped to his feet and raced over. "But I just thought of the perfect name for him!"

"If you say 'Tuffnut Junior'," said Snotlout, "I'm gonna punch something."

"No, Snotlout, not _Tuffnut Junior,"_ said Tuffnut, sounding offended.

"Thank _Thor_ -" Astrid began.

"I shall call him," Tuffnut continued on, more grandly than ever, "Tuffnut _Thorston_ Junior!"

Snotlout stared, mouth hanging agape for a moment or two - and then he turned around and banged his head against the wall repeatedly

"C'mon, Tuffnut Thorston Junior, come on!" said Tuffnut, patting his knees. The Eruptodon stared at him and tilted his head to one side, confused.

"No!" said Fishlegs, holding the baby Eruptodon almost protectively, turning away from Tuffnut in the process. "You stay away from him! I'm taking him back to the Defenders of the Wing right away! We promised Mala we'd take care of him until it was safe!"

"Fishlegs is right," Hiccup agreed, when Tuffnut opened his mouth to protest.

Tuffnut lowered his head, looking dejected.

Hiccup sighed heavily. "But I'm sure Mala wouldn't mind if you visited every now and then," said Hiccup.

Tuffnut's face lit up instantly. "Really? You mean it?" he asked. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

"But only if Mala _says_ so, alright?" said Astrid, but she wasn't sure Tuffnut actually payed any attention.

"I _have_ to go with you, Fishlegs!" said Tuffnut. "Please!"

"What? No," said Fishlegs.

"PLEASE!" Tuffnut cried, getting on his hands and knees. "I'm b-begging yo-o-o-o-ou!" He let out a long, loud, inhuman wail that had the dragon riders covering their ears, and the dragons themselves burying their heads beneath their wings (all except Barf and Belch, who buried their heads right into the floorboard).

"Okay, okay, fine!" said Fishlegs. "You can come with us!"

"Oh, thank you, Fishlegs!" said Tuffnut. "I will not forget this kindness, I promise!"

"Just don't make me regret it," said Fishlegs warningly. "If you do anything to try and hurt this dragon…"

"C'mon, sis, we're going with Fishlegs!" said Tuffnut, racing over and mounting their shared dragon. "We have to see Tuffnut Thorston Junior off!"

"Alright!" Ruffnut agreed, grinning.

"We'll stick around here," Hiccup told Fishlegs, "and look after the Edge. The dragon hunters might try to double back around."

Fishlegs nodded. "Alright," he said, mounting Meatlug once again. "We'll be back in a few days."

"Give Mala our regards," said Heather, and Fishlegs nodded and took off, followed closely by Ruffnut and Tuffnut on Barf and Belch.

Then, Heather stood up. "Well," she said, straightening her skirt, "we should really head back to Berserker island. Now that the hunters' weapon is gone, there's a lot of repairs that need to be done."

"Right you are, sister," said Dagur, also getting to his feet. He wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulders. "They can destroy our home," he said dramatically, "but they can never destroy our true Berserker spirits!"

Astrid, too, rose to her feet, as did Hiccup (Snotlout was still banging his head against the wall).

"Do you want us to go with you, Heather?" Astrid offered.

"We're always willing to help," Hiccup added.

Heather was already shaking her head. "No, but thank you," she said, and she smiled softly. "The Berserkers are my - no, _our_ ," she backtracked, looking at her brother, "people. It's our duty to look after them."

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged glances, and then nodded their agreement. "Alright," said Hiccup, "but be sure to Terror mail us if you change your mind."

"Or if the dragon hunters try attacking you again," said Astrid. "Just say the word, and we'll be there."

"Thank you, Astrid," said Heather, "it really means a lot to me." She looked up at Dagur and smiled. "Shall we go, brother?" she asked.

"I think we shall," agreed Dagur, nodding firmly, and the brother and sister left with their dragons, Dagur's maniac shriek echoing in the distance.

Hiccup and Astrid waved until Windshear and Shattermaster were out of sight - then, they turned back to Snotlout, hopelessly banging his head against the wall.

"Are you okay, Snotlout?" Hiccup asked.

Snotlout paused just long enough to let out a loud, long whine. "Nnnnnoooo," he moaned pathetically, and went straight back to bashing his forehead against the wall. Hookfang snorted.

"Should we stop him?" Hiccup asked Astrid.

Astrid paused and hummed in mock-thought. "Let me sleep on it," she decided.


	7. Chapter 7

***shows up with a Starbucks* Doot de doot de dooo...well, this update's coming a little later than expected, but it's not that bad. I mean, it's only been...**

 ***checks calander***

 **Wait...**

 ***double-checks calander***

 **FORTHELOVEOFROCKYROADICECREAMIT'SBEENNEARLYTWOWEEKS OH MY GOSH I AM SO SORRY GUYS I DID NOT MEAN FOR THIS TO HAPPEN I PROMISE!**

 **So I kinda found out that my finger was actually BROKEN, not just sprained, and then just today I got a re-check with the doctor to find out that it WASN'T actually broken and I'd been wearing a STUPID SPLINT THAT MADE TYPING NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE for NO REASON WHATSOEVER.**

 **Oh and then I thew out my knee. So I've kinda been having a bad last couple of days. -_- This always happens right before my birthday, I don't know why...(P.S. my birthday is next week)**

 **Anyways, I'm sure you didn't come to read my author's note, so I'll get on with the shout-outs now. :)**

 **Astrid Lokison: I AM SORRY FOR KILLING YOU HERE IS THE UPDATE. XD And my finger's on the mend, so I'm fine. :) I had SO MUCH FUN writing that last chapter, so I'm glad you found it funny as well! :D Thanks for the review! :)**

 **Sadie: Okay okay! XD You'll just have to read the chapter and see what happens! :) And your idea for The Beat of Your Heart is awesome! I'm not sure when I'll update that story next, but I'll definitely take your suggestion into consideration. :)**

 **Guest (#1): Aww you're so sweet, thank you! :) I'm hoping to start my channel soon, so I'll put a link to it on my profile once I launch it. Your encouragement means a lot! :D I hope you continue playing piano, too! :)**

 **Insert it here: Wow, that's quite the compliment! Thank you so much! :)**

 **SnivyDragon: URGH I am so bad at the whole "Shellshocker vs. Shellfire" thing. -_- I guess that's what comes with typing a name wrong ONCE and then reallizing you were wrong, but your brain doesn't compute the information. :/ And yeah, I'm under the impression that the universe kinda hates me in general. XD I think I'm definitely going to launch my YouTube channel soon, so I'll put a link up in my profile once it's up. :) Thanks for the review and the encouragement! :D**

 **TheMightyMuffin: Of course, because no story is complete without some added drama and suspense. :) Thanks for the review!**

 **Guest (#2): Thanks! :D**

 **WhovianDemiwizard: Oh dear...*backs away slowly* Honestly, I seriously can't understand why so many people like my writing sometimes. But if I ever find out any "secrets" I'll make sure to let you know. XD Yeah, I think everybody's kinda suspicious about the arrow...well, I ain't gonna say anything. *shrugs* I'll just say it in my writing. XD I seriously love Snotlout. He's got some great comedic timing. XD Anyways, thanks for the review! I hope you like the final chapter! :)**

 **Margaret Helstone: Thank you very much! Yeah, I try to keep my updates relatively quick, because I know nobody likes to be kept waiting for very long, especially considering all the cliffhangers I pull. XD And it's good to know I'm keeping the whole thing "show-like"! That's something I always strive to do. :) Oh yeah, totally; I ship Hiccstrid like FedEx, so you can bet there'll be more Hiccstrid moments. :) Thanks for the review(s)! :D**

 **SailorMew4: I know, right? :)**

 **CloakedDragonWing3721: Hahahaha, I feel you. I want to see Hiccup get kidnapped as much as the next person, so I think it's safe to assume we'll see some of that later on. :)**

 **Iris Patton: Thanks so much! My finger's feeling quite a bit better now, so I can do shout-outs again, which makes me happy! :) I'll try not to injure my fingers again in the future; believe me, I hate it just as much as you guys do. XD Yeah, well, we'll have to see what happens with the arrow in this chapter. :) Thanks for the reiew!**

 **Galaxy-Mitsuko-Pegasus: I know, right? I seriously need to stop messing up my fingers. :/ But anyways, thanks for the review! :)**

 **MartialArtistwithaPen: HAHAHAHA YES I'd love like a 1 hour loop vid of just Snotlout banging his head against the wall. That's something I could procrasinate to easily...XD I know, jamming fingers is no fun AT ALL, especially for us musicians. I literally spent twenty minutes the other day just staring sadly at my piano until my mom asked "Are you okay?" XD Thanks for the review! I hope you enjoy the last chapter! :)**

 **Zoha Ven: Thanks! I'm having a lot of fun with these stories, so we'll see how it goes! :D Thanks for the review! :)**

 **SingStar234: Maaayyyybe. *innocent halo appears above head***

 **FanWriter02: Hahaha, well, this time, the review worked! :D I always imagined the twins being the biggest Hiccstrid shippers of the franchise (besides maybe Stoick), so I thought it'd be fun to throw that little tidbit in there. XD Yeah...we'll see how the chapter ends...although most of you can probably already predict it...XD I think I'm definitely going to start my YouTube channel soon, so I'll put up a link on my profile once it's up and running. :) Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Forever Me: Hahaha, I seriously doubt that's actually the case. I'm just a klutz with bad luck. XD Thanks for your reviews! And even if they did curse me, I'd still want to get them. XD**

 **Aeon The Dimensional Girl: Yeah everyone's kinda already counting on some sort of crazy cliffhanger at the end of the chapter...guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh? XD Thanks for the review! :)**

 **SilverGhostWolf777: *accepts hugs* Yeah, jammed fingers hurt. :'( But thank you for your concern! Getting reviews always boost my morale, so writing through the pain is totally worth it. :) I think it's hilarious that everyone just kinda assumes Hiccup is poisoned...it's truly beautiful. XD Anyways, thanks for the review! :D**

 **boyscouts83712: AAAHHHH I DO NOT WANT TO BE GUTTED LIKE A FISH! *hides underneath the couch* XD I know you wouldn't do that, though; if you DID gut me, you'd never know how the story ended, and we couldn't have that now, could we? XD YES I love Snotlout and the twins! Their comedy is the best. XD Thanks for the review! :)**

 **Anyways, this is the final chapter! I hope you guys have enjoyed it so far and I hope this final chapter makes you love it all the more! My final author's note is at the end of the chapter, bUT DON'T GO THERE NOW BECAUSE *River Song's voice* SPOOOIILLLERRRSSS! **

* * *

"All the Night Terrors are accounted for, Hiccup," said Astrid, soaring into the Clubhouse on Stormfly. She dismounted a moment later and headed over to where Hiccup sat at the table, writing in his notebook with a piece of charcoal.

"Great," said Hiccup, smiling. "Snotlout should be back soon with the reports on the Deadly Nadders…"

As if on cue, Snotlout and Hookfang barreled into the Clubhouse, Hookfang ablaze and Snotlout screaming incoherently. He leapt off his dragon as fast as physically possible and stormed towards Hiccup.

"The Nadders are still here," said Snotlout, glaring, "and I risked life and limb to find that out. But why!? Why do we care if a couple of the dragons fly off!?"

"That volcano disturbed a lot of the island, Snotlout," said Hiccup. "If a lot of the dragons spooked and took off, chances are they'd head to Berk. If that happened, I wanted to give my Dad and the rest of the village a heads-up."

"But, of course," said Astrid, "since all the dragons are accounted for, we don't _need_ to send any Terror mail to Berk."

"So I did all that for _nothing!?"_ Snotlout complained. Hookfang snorted. "Don't _you_ complain too, Hookfang!" Snotlout shouted. " _You're_ the reason counting the Nadders was such a pain in the butt!"

Hookfang growled at him, swung his tail, and smacked Snotlout across the room. Snotlout hit resistance against the wall and sank to the ground; Hiccup and Astrid winced, as did Toothless and Stormfly, while Hookfang chortled in laughter.

Snotlout stood up, dusting himself off. "Oh yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Hookfang, laugh it up," said Snotlout. "But I'll warn you now, dragon. Don't bite the hand that feeds you, or you'll wake up with an empty bucket of fish one morning."

Hookfang growled at him, almost as if daring Snotlout to try.

"Well, it's late," Hiccup said, standing and clapping his hands together, "and we've all had a long day, so we should probably start thinking about turning in for the night."

"Yes, _please_ ," said Snotlout. "Come on, Hookfang, it's to the stables." Hookfang growled, but didn't budge. "Hookfang," Snotlout said again, but the stubborn dragon held his ground. " _Hookfang_ ," Snotlout said warningly. "Stupid dragon…"

He grabbed Hookfang by his horn and gave a hard yank. "Come _on_ , Hookfang!" snapped Snotlout furiously, when his dragon still didn't listen. "Get up, you stupid - AHH!"

Hookfang jerked his head and flung Snotlout off and across the room once again. Snotlout hit the same wall, in almost the exact same place, and hit the floor once again. This time, Toothless and Stormfly warbled in laughter, and Hiccup and Astrid turned away to hide their grins.

Hookfang spread his wings and took off, leaving Snotlout behind. Snotlout jumped to his feet and raced after him, screaming, "HOOKFANG! WAIT UP! _HOOKFANG!"_

Astrid settled a hand on her hip and shook her head. "Looks like he'll be _walking_ to the stables," said Astrid once Snotlout disappeared out the Clubhouse's door.

"Guess so," said Hiccup, and he took his seat at the table once again, looking over his notes. Astrid watched him, and then sank into the seat beside him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing's _wrong_ , exactly," said Hiccup, "it's just...well…"

"Are you still thinking about Viggo?"

Hiccup tensed, and then sighed. "Sort of…"

Astrid shook her head and rested a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "There was nothing you could have done, Hiccup," she said.

"I know that," said Hiccup. "And I know that if it _didn't_ happen, well, he'd still be trying to attack us. He'd still be trying to kill us off, one by one, or twist us and trick us until somebody gets hurt. Still…" He sighed again. "...I wish it didn't have to end like that."

Astrid sighed. "Me too," she said. There was a beat of silence, and then, Astrid spoke again. "What are you going to do now?" she asked. "Ryker's still out there, and so are the rest of the dragon hunters."

"I know," said Hiccup. "I'm pretty sure Ryker was initially after the Dragon Eye. He still doesn't know it's gone."

Astrid nodded. "Yeah, and I think for now that's news better not broken," she said. "Who _knows_ what kind of tantrum he'll throw when he finds out it's gone."

"He doesn't know about Viggo, either."

Astrid nodded again, but this time she didn't add anything afterwards. Instead, she turned her attention back to Hiccup. "How's your arm?" she asked.

Hiccup glanced down. He'd washed and disinfected the arrow wound and wrapped it with bandages and gauze. "It's fine," he said. "I'll probably really be feeling it tomorrow, but for now it's okay. How about you? You aren't holding back any injuries, are you?"

"I told you I wouldn't do that anymore, didn't I?" Astrid replied. "It's like you said, Hiccup. We rely on each other. We can't afford to keep things hidden."

Hiccup nodded. "Right," he agreed. "Well, it's late. You should probably go to bed."

"Yeah," said Astrid, rising to her feet, "and you should, too, Hiccup."

"I will," Hiccup said with a nod, also getting to his feet - that is to say, foot. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Astrid said, smiling. She kissed his cheek and left with Stormfly, heading towards her hut for some shut-eye.

Hiccup sighed, and Toothless bounded over, sitting next to his rider to watch the Nadder and her rider go. "Well, you heard what Astrid said, Toothless," said Hiccup, turning towards the Night Fury. "We should probably turn in, before she finds us."

Toothless nodded in agreement, and Hiccup mounted the Night Fury and headed off to their own hut.

…

When they arrived at their hut, Hiccup dismounted. The night air was cold, but not too cold (not as cold as Berk, at least), and the sky was filled with smoky clouds from the volcanic eruption.

"Alright, bud," Hiccup said, patting Toothless gently on the head and pulling the hatch open to their hut. "You did good today, Toothless."

Toothless growled his thanks and followed his rider inside.

Hiccup pulled his distinguished flaming sword from his belt and settled it on his desk as he walked by. "I've got some new ideas for Inferno," Hiccup said, "but they can wait. Right now-"

He suddenly stopped, reaching up to clutch his head, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. Toothless noticed this new development immediately and spun around to face Hiccup, looking at his rider with big, concerned eyes.

"I-I'm okay, bud," Hiccup said (and he hoped to Thor he wasn't lying). "Just got dizzy all of a sudden...gah!" He stumbled forward, and Toothless ducked his head, managing to catch Hiccup at the last second.

Toothless cooed in concern, and Hiccup tried (and failed) to straighten himself up. "Thanks, Toothless," Hiccup said gratefully, but his voice was soft, his breathing suddenly labored. "I don't know what's going on…"

When he looked around, he saw double. Two desks, two staircases, two spare prosthetic tailfins on the wall. Everything went in and out of focus at different intervals.

"Yeah…" Hiccup said, his eyes dropping. "I'm pretty sure this isn't...good." His eyes closed, and he slumped forward against Toothless.

Toothless panicked. He growled and jostled his rider over and over again, hoping to garner some kind of reaction, but Hiccup didn't budge. Toothless carefully - ever so carefully - let Hiccup slip to the floor, and then, Toothless looked him over, nudging him and sniffing him worriedly.

He licked Hiccup's face. Nothing. He nudged his arm. Still nothing. He rolled him over onto his side. Still (once again) nothing.

Toothless was beside himself with worry for the longest time, and then, he remembered.

Astrid. She could help Hiccup.

Toothless turned and raced towards the still-open hatch leading inside. Just before heading off, he turned back, crooned once more at Hiccup, and then left to find Astrid.

...

"There we go," said Astrid, closing Stormfly's stable. The Deadly Nadder chowed down on chicken, a special treat from Astrid as a thank-you to the Nadder for all her hard work. "Goodnight, Stormfly."

Stormfly turned, chirped at her, and then went right back to eating a moment later. Astrid smiled, and then headed out of the stables, sliding the doors shut behind her.

"Alright," said Astrid to herself. "Guess I should be getting to bed, too."

She was heading that way when suddenly, up ahead, a blur of darkness charged towards her. Her mind fogged with exhaustion thanks to today's stress and events, it took her a while before she realized it was not a blur, but Toothless.

"Toothless?" she said, confused. The Night Fury skidded to a halt right in front of her, his eyes full of frantic terror. "Whoa, hey, hey, Toothless, calm down-"

But Toothless _didn't_ calm down whatsoever. Instead, he retracted his teeth, clasped Astrid's forearm between his gums, and gave her a hard, firm tug towards the direction from whence he'd come.

It took Astrid approximately three seconds before she realized. There was only one thing in the world that could make Toothless this panicked, and that was-

"Hiccup," Astrid gasped.

Something was wrong with Hiccup.

Once Astrid said that, Toothless released her arm and took off, knowing she would follow him (which she did). She ran as fast as she could, and then a little bit faster.

Hiccup was _fine_ literally five minutes ago. What had changed? Were there still hunters on the island? Was Hiccup in trouble? Was he being kidnapped? No, if that was the case, Toothless would have gone after Hiccup's captors instead of going to Astrid.

So what?

Toothless turned and bolted, straight towards Hiccup's hut with Astrid hot on his tail. Astrid finally stopped in the doorway, catching her breath and clutching the stitch in her side.

Toothless didn't stop at all, and instead barreled straight past her. Astrid watched him, and then blanched.

"Hiccup?" she said, releasing her side and moving forward, her breathlessness and the throb in her side both forgotten. Hiccup was on his side on the floor, his eyes shut. At first, Astrid thought that maybe he was just asleep, but Toothless knew the difference between sleeping and unconsciousness.

If Hiccup was just sleeping, the Night Fury wouldn't have been so panicked.

So it was something else.

"Hiccup, talk to me," Astrid said, kneeling on the ground by his side and rolling him over on his back, looking for injuries. "Hiccup," she tried, but there was no response. "Hiccup!" she tried again, and this time, she patted his cheek.

Instantly, she withdrew her hand in shock.

His skin was burning.

"What…?" Astrid said, feeling more and more worried by the second. "Hiccup…" She was about to try rousing him again, when she suddenly caught sight of the bandages and gauze still wound around Hiccup's arm.

This was the only apparent injury he had, and even though it'd happened hours ago, she still wanted to check it out.

She pulled out her dagger and sliced away the bandages, inspecting the gash. Her eyes widened, and she gasped, her dagger slipping from her hands and hitting the hardwood floor with a dull _thunk_.

"Oh, Thor…" she whispered. "Hiccup…"

…

"We have to go back for the Dragon Eye," a hunter told Ryker when they arrived at the dragon hunter base and got off their ships, walking through the sand leading towards their tents.

"Yes, that we do," agreed Ryker, "and we will, all in good time."

"The riders will know we're coming, though, won't they?" asked the same hunter, somewhat frantically, worry and panic evident in his voice. The sand merged into soil, and they walked continued walking through the grass, never stopping. "They'll be able to regroup and fight back. We won't stand a chance-"

"Don't worry," said Ryker, pulling one of his arrows from his quiver and examining it in the faint moonlight. The arrowhead was solid black, like charcoal, but hard and smooth like a stone. "They won't be regrouping any time soon."

He threw the arrow onto the ground, the arrowhead sinking straight into the soil, and kept on walking, leaving his arrow behind. "Gather your weapons," Ryker ordered, "and keep moving forward. We attack the Edge in three days, under the light of the full moon."

The hunters shouted "YESSIR!" and scampered off to do their new leader's bidding.

Behind Ryker was the arrow, still embedded in the ground, but now, the grass surrounding the arrow was black, withered, and dead.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **I think it's hilarious that throughout this story I didn't say a single thing about "poison" and yet you guys just all mutually decided that the arrow Hiccup was grazed with was poisoned.**

 **I was actually considering writing an "April Fools" sort of chapter that ends perfectly, with no poison or anything, just to throw you off, but I didn't make April Fools day in time to do that, so I obviously didn't do that. And besides, I'm not _that_ evil. XD **

**Anyways, I feel like 90% of this story has been building the moat, and Snotlout and the twins getting mad at each other. :/ I'M SORRY BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO but "Fire and Brimstone Part 2" should be a bit more interesting if it goes the way I plan.**

 **"Fire and Brimstone Part 1" is now completed! You guys know the drill. Up next, "Fire and Brimstone Part 2"! And of course I had to end this with a cliffhanger; there's just no other way I could have possibly ended it, y'know?**

 **Well I mean there** _ **were**_ **different ways it could have gone down, but you guys know me well enough by now to know that cliffhangers are the only** _ **real**_ **option, right? XD**

 **Anyways, I hope you liked this story, and keep your eyes peeled for "Fire and Brimstone Part 2"! Make sure you check back on my profile every now and then, too; I've started adding a couple release dates for future fanfiction "episodes" and whatnot.**

 **Oh, and kinda random: so, a lot of you over the past while have been asking me "how I write fanfiction 'so well'" (I blush like crazy whenever I hear that) so I did a blog post with some tips/hints/tricks on my writing blog. If you guys are interested, you can get the link to my blog on my profile. It's just a thought that came to me randomly while I was finishing up the author's notes, so I thought why not? Hopefully, if anyone decides to check that out, you can take something away from it. XD**

 **Anywho, thank you all for reading, and I'll see you next time!**

 **Cheers!**

 **-BeyondTheClouds777**


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